Stepping off of the boat, Cyrus saw at once the cave which led to the Earth Maiden's underground dwelling. It seemed rather forbidding, and he had more than a little trepidation about entering the darkened opening, but it was necessary in order to proceed. After all, he would be unable to reach Iris without gaining the goddess' boost of powers, and her advice was needed to discover precisely how he might seek out the mysterious fifth Maiden.

He crept into the cavern gingerly, and began to descend into the subterranean depths of Verbena's domain. Luminescent fungi provided an eerie bluish light which barely illuminated the steps carved out of the rock, and the endless dripping of stalactites was the only sound aside from the echoing of his footsteps that could be heard as he traveled deeper into the cave. The air grew stale and dank as he went down, and the walls seemed to close in slightly, though it was probably merely his imagination.

The light-giving fungi began to thin out, and the stairs were only just visible in front of him. It came to the point beyond which he could see nothing in front of him. He hesitated, but seeing no alternative, continued downward, now feeling truly cut off. Soon, a loud, echoing drip could be heard in front of him. What was this? His pace slowed, and after he descended a few more steps he realized that the path had leveled out. In utter darkness now, he walked just a little bit further, and came suddenly into a wide open space.

Feeling exposed in the absence of the walls, he shrank back into the tunnel, but soon forced himself to reenter the large chamber. He could not guess its exact size, but given the echoes he heard, it must be immense. The youth worried about angering the goddess unduly; yet seeing no other recourse, he summoned up a small amount of fire energy, and created a ball of it in between his hands.

At once, the vastness of the cavern hit him like a blow. It was incredibly huge, approaching the Garden's dome in size. The other Maidens had not possessed abodes that were nearly so impressive by comparison. He was lost in the imposing vista, when his attention was abruptly called to a figure approaching from the center.

Without any preamble, the earth goddess had risen up out of the solid rock in the middle, her angular form being minimalist but still as beautiful as those of the others. She strode over to Cyrus with thunderous steps and stopped directly before him.

"We will be frank. We and our sisters have run out of time for this folly, so we will dispense with the challenge and come straight to the point. Iris has become doubly pained, and has started draining the sun's strength at an increased rate." Cyrus gasped. "Yes, she is indeed the cause of its weakness. We speculate that she will destroy it utterly within days if she is not stopped. Her power, though few mortals know it, is limitless. That is, Iris has all of our abilities and infinitely more. She is, in fact, a part of everything in the entire world."

She paused a moment to let this sink in before continuing. "Our sisters have not been completely honest with you. Our challenges were considerably reduced in difficulty, because we feared that our sole candidate for bringing Iris out of her nightmare might be damaged if our full powers were brought to bear. You performed admirably regardless, but the truth is that you would have remained our choice whether you had passed the tests or not. The only way you would have been rejected is if you succeeded with a little too much ease."

"You see, we still do not know what became of the Gardener, though we know that Iris' pain is in some way connected to him. Our suspicion is that he has turned renegade, and none of us know what form he might assume if this were the case; perhaps he might try to steal our power under the guise of one who sought our help. But your battles with our beasts have shown that you were still challenged by them, whereas the Gardener would have had no trouble in dispatching them at once."

"The fact remains that we have run out of time for any more concealment. Iris is lost in a world of pain, which we cannot enter despite our best attempts. We know only that her priestess was somehow wrenched from her, resulting in the mortal half's demise, and that the Gardener may have been involved in this. We have never known such an anguish; if our floral component were forced to go on alone, there would be no end to the sorrow. This is the situation which faces Iris at present."

"What you must do is travel into her world. She is beyond our reach, for none of us can leave our mortal aspect to voyage apart from ourselves. However, you, as a mortal, will be able to venture into her nightmare, and try to resolve it in whatever way you can. Since we do not know what in fact happened, we cannot say what the solution will be, but we trust that you will be able to solve the problem if it is at all possible."

"This, however, is a part of the two dangers you face. The Gardener, part one, remains an unknown factor. If he was responsible for killing Iris' priestess, he is certainly capable of causing great harm. Even if he is gone completely, the second problem lies in the perilous journey into Iris' being, from which your mind may never return if you do not take care to retain your own mind within hers."

"We felt it necessary to reveal all of this to you now; for now is the point beyond which there is no turning back. If you have commit yourself to this course by accepting my added powers, you will be in grave danger, of losing your life or perhaps even your whole being. The choice lies with you. Will you take on this challenge?"

A single flower lay in her outstretched hand. So, this was the moment of decision. At long last, the culmination of all that he had worked for since he left his cottage in Norven what seemed like years ago, though it had only been months. Without a moment's hesitation, he grasped the bloom, feeling the surge of added strength once more.

"There is no challenge which I would more greatly desire to undertake."

"Though we fear for you, we are... pleased. Here, then, is what you must do."

As Verbena explained, the temple of Iris was located far to the north, at the very tip of the world. The voyage there would be long, even if Cyrus used his wind powers to give his vessel a boost. Therefore, she would open a tunnel for him straight through the ground to the site. He would need to travel along it as quickly as he could, using his powers when he was able, and then come out on the other side on top of the ice. While the priestess of Iris had resided there, there had been perpetual spring, but in her absence, ice had formed over the top of it which would need to be thawed. Once inside, he would have to use his power on a set of four altars which lay inside. Finally, the way into Iris' mind would become evident.

She prepared the passageway almost instantaneously after she had finished explaining, carving it into the side of her vast cavern. "It is time, young Cyrus. You must go through the tunnel. We do not know how this will turn out, but we have high hopes that you will be successful. Go, quickly! We wish you the best of luck."

Cyrus nodded gravely. "Farewell, my lady." He gathered his wind energies before starting to propel himself through the tunnel as rapidly as possible, and thought of what faced him as he speeded through the uniform smoothness of Verbena's creation. There would be a challenge beyond any he had yet experienced. Yet he was ready. The fate of the world would depend on his success here, and there was no way he would permit himself to fail. For Fiella, his mother; for Saltrio, his mentor; for Micael, his young companion; for everyone, there was no choice but to win. Thusly convinced, he went even faster through the passageway, driven by the desire to save all the people he held dear.